Like Our Parents
by Klutzzy128
Summary: Life is changing for Olivia, and as exciting as that is,it also scares her to death.  Who will she lean on when she needs someone?
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Law & Order: SVU...

Timeline: Current-ish. Casey and Alex are back, Rollins recently joined the squad, but Elliot never left (though he and Kathy are split up, for good this time.).

* * *

><p>March 12<p>

Detective Olivia Benson had faced more than her fair share of scary situations. She'd had a gun held to her head and been shot at. She had nearly had her throat sliced open. She'd been in foot chases that ended with her fighting guys much bigger than herself. She had been assaulted by a prison guard while she was undercover. But nothing terrified her more than what was directly in front of her. All of that was the job…this wasn't. She'd had a partner to back her up all of those times…this time she feared she was on her own. And what scared her the most was the fact that she was not only terrified, she was also _thrilled_ with the news.

She sat on the edge of the bathtub, glancing back and forth between the little white stick sitting on the counter and the one in her hand. They both gave her the same message: a big, fat positive. Olivia Benson was pregnant.

She pressed her left hand against her abdomen, trying to imagine the little life that was inside her. Then she laid her right hand on her gun, still in its holster, and attempted to meld her life and her future. Olivia knew she wanted a child, she wanted to be a mother, but this was so overwhelming. She sat on the couch and cried, never even realizing she fell asleep until her alarm went off the next morning.

For the next week Olivia threw herself into the job, while attempting to conceal her morning sickness and aversion to the smell of her favorite take out from her coworkers. This didn't go unnoticed by her partner, Elliot Stabler. No matter how many times he asked Benson if she was okay, her answer was always the same, "I'm good El, just stressed, you know?" Then she would ask about some detail of a case to divert his attention. She wanted to tell him, wanted him to hold her and tell her it would be alright, that he would be there to support her. Even if she never admitted it before, she needed him now.

_I'll tell him soon, _she thought. _ I just need to go to the doctor first._ Olivia had all of the worries and questions than every first time mother had, but she also had some special concerns. Detective Benson needed to know how quickly she needed to make changes to the job. The job had always been her life, now her life was going to have a whole other part. _So many questions_, she just needed to get them answered before she could tell anyone.

* * *

><p>March 25<p>

Don Cragen looked up from his paperwork to see Detective Benson standing in the doorway of his office. She looked…heavy, like something was weighing on her mind. She was silent, but her face told him she needed to talk. The captain decided that he could use a break from the stacks of files and he waved the detective into his office. "What's up, Liv?

Olivia still didn't say a word as she stepped into the office of her captain, the only man who she ever thought of as a father, and shut the door. She took a deep breath and tried to find the words.

Cragen watched the expressions play over her face, a whole range of emotions reflected there. "Olivia, is this professional or personal?"

"Uh…both, I guess." The normally self-assured, confident detective was still struggling with how to tell him. She finally decided that she might as well just say it. "Captain…Don, I'm pregnant" she said with a small smile playing over her lips and concern in her eyes. "I just went to the doctor yesterday. You're the first person I've told." Now that she started talking she couldn't seem to stop. "I already talked to my doctor about my job, and she said that I could continue as normal for a few weeks and then I'd need to go on desk duty at three or four months. I know I'll need to make some changes and you have the final say, and I just want to make sure-"

"Olivia" Don interrupted her, "take a breath." He really didn't need to ask how she felt about it all, he could see that her concern was for his reaction and her job, the joy was evident now. "Congratulations, Liv."

"Thanks Captain" Olivia slipped back into her professional mode, nearly holding her breath waiting for him to speak again.

"As long as it's alright with your doctor, I'm fine with you staying on full duty for the time being. Give me a couple of days to get everything else sorted out and then we'll talk about when you're going to start riding a desk!" He smiled when she released her breath.

"Alright. And, captain, I don't want to tell anyone else just yet."

He figured as much, but kept this thought to himself as she turned to walk out of his office. "Olivia, we're all here for you, you know that right?"

Olivia looked out into the squad room at her partner and the rest of the detectives and let out a sigh, "Yeah, I know. Thanks…Grandpa Don." She quickly opened the door and strode into the hall before either of them saw the tears in each other's eyes.

* * *

><p>April 2<p>

"Elliot…I need to talk to you…"

Elliot glanced across the desks at Olivia, she look nervous. He'd been worried about her for a few weeks, but now that worry turned to full-fledged concern and fear for his partner. "What's wrong?"

"Can we…go somewhere else?" After more than ten years, Olivia knew how to read her partner, and she could tell he was on the verge of freaking out. "It's okay. Let's just go up to the crib, it's probably empty." She walked away before he had a chance to ask her what was wrong again, she wanted to tell him, but she wasn't quite ready for the entire squad room to know.

"Olivia, tell me what's wrong!" Elliot demanded as he walked into the crib. He didn't even wait for a response before he started talking again. "I've been worried about you, you're pale, you've been late more often than normal, and you always seen exhausted at the end of the day! Are you sick? I need you to tell me-"

"Elliot." Olivia sharply cut off his tirade. Half of her job as his partner was controlling the infamous Stabler temper, so she'd had plenty of practice and could hold her own. This time she didn't let him get another word in before she spoke. "Nothing is wrong with me! El, I'm pregnant."

Elliot sank down onto one of the beds and stared at her. Benson could see the pieces fall into place for her partner: her not drinking coffee, her sudden dislike of her old favorite foods, her lack of energy, everything made sense to him now.

"I was going to tell you yesterday, but I figured April Fools might not be the best day to break this kind of news!"

"Wow, Liv. Are you…?" He didn't even bother finishing the question, he could read his partner and he knew she might be nervous and scared, but she was also glowing.

"Yeah, I'm happy" she answered his unspoken question. "I've already told Cragen, but no one else knows yet. I want to wait a while before I tell everyone, but I needed to tell you."

Elliot's face broke out into a smile "I'm so happy for you! And, everything looks good?"

"Everything looks great! I'm almost 9 weeks along."

"And you kept it a secret?"

"Well, I did even know until a few weeks ago, and I wanted to wait to see the doctor."

Olivia is spared any further questioning by a shout from Fin downstairs, "Benson, Stabler! We caught a case, let's go!" She's already out the door when Elliot realized he forgot to ask who the father was. As far as he knew, Benson wasn't serious with anyone.


	2. Chapter 2

April 5

_Who's the father? _The question had been bouncing around in Elliot's mind since Olivia had told him her news, but he hadn't found a way to ask her yet…as it was she was already accusing him of being overprotective.

"Elliot! I'm fine. I'm not letting you go interview this guy by yourself. Cragen would have my ass if you go all Stabler on some guy and he finds out I let you go alone."

"And he'll have my neck if anything happens to you! Liv, you need to get some rest."

"Okay, you can drop me off at my apartment, _after _we interview this guy. And, if you keep acting this way, everyone's going to know something's up. So, stop. "

"I just don't want you to overdo it…" She cut him off with a searing glance from the passenger seat. Elliot decided not to ask his question until later, he knew she wouldn't answer if she was upset with him.

After they finished their interview (uneventfully), and he turned towards Benson's apartment. She didn't seem so pissed at him anymore, so maybe it would be safe to ask, he decided. "Uh, Olivia" he ventured as they pulled in front of her building, "I, uh, didn't know you'd been seeing anyone seriously…"

Olivia knew what he was trying to ask her, and she couldn't quite keep the tears out of her voice as she answered, "I wasn't…we went out a few times, but he…left. I called him…he doesn't want anything to do with us." At these words she abandoned all pretense of not crying and burst into sobs. "I'm all alone."

"No, no you're not alone." Elliot attempted to gather Olivia into a hug in the confines of the car. "You have me, and Cragen, Munch and Fin, Alex and Casey, Rollins too. We'll always be there for you and your baby, Liv, we've been family for a long time." Then he just held his partner until she ran out of tears.

* * *

><p>April 15<p>

Olivia decided she wanted to tell Alex, Casey, Fin, and Munch at the same time, since she didn't want to listen to them complain about who found out first and last and in between. Nearly two weeks after she told Elliot about her impending motherhood, Benson was finally able to wrangle all of her coworkers (all of the important people in her life) into going out for dinner and drinks. Fin invited the newest member of their team, Amanda Rollins, to join them, which Olivia didn't mind. She was beginning to enjoy having another female in the squad; it made it easier to deal with the testosterone overload. Besides, Rollins had proven that she was a kick ass cop who belonged in SVU.

When Cragen and his detectives arrived at the restaurant, they spotted the two lawyers at a corner table. Alex and Casey had been arguing over how one of them handled some case or another. Though they were both prosecutors and good friends, they had different styles, which sometimes led to conflict. It kept life interesting, and they both enjoyed their "debates".

The group had settled into an easy banter when the waitress arrived to take their drink orders.

Cargen ordered his usual club soda.

"Blended Margarita" Alex had had a good day in court.

"Make that two" Casey added.

Rollins spoke next "Vodka Cranberry."

"Not very Southern belle" joked Fin.

"There's a reason I moved to New York" she shot back.

Fin, Munch, and Elliot all ordered beer.

"And I'll take a Sprite" Olivia spoke quietly, not wanting to be too transparent. However, nothing got by Alex, being a good observer was part of what made her a great prosecutor.

"Sprite? Aren't you the one who wanted to go out for drinks in the first place?"

"Yeah, Benson, what's up with that?" Munch joined in on the questioning.

"Don't feel like it tonight" Olivia evaded, wanting to draw out the moment. By now everyone was staring at her. Elliot and the Captain both had broad smiles, while everyone else looked confused and curious.

"Come on, baby girl, we know you, something's up." Fin had always looked at Olivia like his little sister.

"Well," Olivia caught Elliot's eye and broke into a grin. He looked like he would burst if she didn't tell them soon. "I do have an announcement to make…"

That was as far as she got before Casey- another observant lawyer- let out a gasp. "Oh my gosh, you're pregnant aren't you?"

"Way to ruin my moment, Case!" Olivia said, her smile widening. Munch and Fin turned to stare at Olivia, open-mouthed. They couldn't quite imagine Benson, the cop, pregnant; even though they knew Olivia would be a wonderful mother. She had time to laugh at the expressions on their faces before Casey and Alex converged on her in a group hug. Once the lawyers were done smothering the detective, Fin stood up to give her a hug, followed by Munch and Rollins.

"Judging by the lack of shock and the Cheshire Cat grins on their faces, you already told these two?" Fin jerked his thumb at Elliot and the Captain.

"Yeah," Olivia admitted. "I had to inform my CO and ask him to be Grandpa Don" she added with a smile at Cragen. "Now I'm telling all of the baby's aunts and uncles." This statement resulted in tears from Alex and Casey, plus another hug and a kiss on the top of her head from Fin.

Their drinks arrived and Elliot raised his glass to make a toast. "To my partner, Olivia Benson. She's already a bad ass cop, and now she'll add being a wonderful mother to her resume." Now it was Olivia's turn to cry while congratulations rang out around her. The rest of the evening passed by in a blur of questions about her due date, when she was going on desk duty (Fin and Munch joined Elliot in pressuring her to start right away), and her plans after she had the baby. No one asked about the baby's father, after listening to Olivia talk about _her_ baby it was clear to all he wasn't going to be around.

With her friends surrounding her, Olivia forgot about her worries. It didn't matter if the father wasn't there, she had a family.

* * *

><p>May 9<p>

"I'm so freaking sick of desk duty!" Olivia burst out as Casey walked into the nearly empty squad room. Stabler and Rollins had been sent to the hospital to interview a victim, Fin and Munch were at the lab getting a report from the techs, even Cragen was gone to a meeting at 1PP. It was 2:34, she had been riding a desk for just over 5-and-a-half-hours. The guys had been pressuring Olivia to get off the streets since she announced her pregnancy, and Cragen made it an order as soon as she hit the three-month mark.

Casey tried to suppress her laughter, but earned herself a frustrated glare from the detective. "Sorry, I came to go over your testimony for the Sydnee case." It wasn't exactly a lie, the case was going to court the next week, but it was really just her excuse. Casey knew Olivia was likely going crazy already and wanted to make sure she was following orders with everyone else out and about.

"I've only left my desk to get more tea, grab lunch, and puke, counselor. You didn't need to come check up on me."

"Am I really that transparent?"

"I may be stuck here, but I'm still a detective. It's what I do."

Casey laughed and gave up all pretenses, "So, besides being bored, how are you feeling?"

"Pretty good. The morning sickness isn't as bad as it was a couple of weeks ago, I probably wouldn't have even gotten sick today if someone hadn't burned coffee…the smell of it…"

"Munch, I assume?" His awful coffee was legendary, even in the DA's office.

"Yeah…He is officially banned from making coffee for the duration of my pregnancy!"


End file.
